Empty Netter Assists - 02-23-10
Olympics
(Note: We're sticking with the Groups for one more day.)
Group A (Canada, Norway, Switzerland, United States)
-Imagine this. United States general manager Brian Burke was grumpy yesterday.
-Not every Canadian was rooting against United States goaltender Ryan Miller Sunday.
-United States forwad Ryan Kesler didn't mind being the bad guy in his home arena Sunday.
-NBC commentator Jeremy Roenick felt the need to apologize for questioning United States forward Chris Drury's (right) roster sport.
-Roberto Luongo > Martin Brodeur apparently. And Sidney Crosby chews through a new set of linemates.
-"If it is (an advantage), it’s not much. There’s not much quirkiness to this building." - Luongo on being able to play games in his home arena, GM Place Hockey Canada Place.
-Dejan Kovacevic makes the case for Marc-Andre Fleury.
-Late in Sunday's loss, Canada gave more time to young defensemen such as Drew Doughty instead of veterans like Chris Pronger.
-Canada faces Germany today. That means the the "Shark line" of Dany Heatley, Patrick Marleau and Joe Thornton gets to face their back up in San Jose, Germany goaltender Thomas Greiss.
-"I've stated it over and over that this is going to be a difficult tournament to win, these teams are really good." - Canada general manager Steve Yzerman.
-Hockey isn't the only sport Canada is having some issues in.
-In terms of ice time, Norway has pretty much been running its best players into the ice. Including the legendary Tore Vikingstad (right).
Group B (Czech Republic, Latvia, Russia, Slovakia)
-"Ovechkin does not play like a Russian. He plays like an NHL player. He risks energy and wasting energy by trying to check everybody." - Russia general manager and Soviet hockey legend Vladislav Tretiak (through a translator) on forward Alex Ovechkin.
-A leg injury is expected to cause Russia forward Sergei Zinoviev to miss the rest of the Olympic tournament and perhaps the remainder of the KHL season.
Group C (Belarus, Finland, Germany, Sweden)
-"You always have a fighting chance. The game starts at nothing-nothing." - Germany coach Uwe Krupp on his team's chances against Canada today.
Group D (Potpourri)
-Hockey is kind of popular in the Pittsburgh television market.
-Today's first "NBC is horrible" piece is brought to you by the Post-Gazette's Dejan Kovacevic.
-Today's second "NBC is horrible" piece is brought to you by Richard Sandomir of the New York Times.
-Today's third "NBC is horrible" piece is brought to you by Tim Cowlishaw of the Dallas Morning News.
-Here's something we can agree with on Ted Leonsis. He plans on giving it to NBC higher-ups over the decision to put Sunday's United States-Canada game the next he sees them.
-Mike "Doc" Emrick has been putting in a lot of overtime.
-Former Penguins Jaromir Jagr, Jiri Slegr and Mikael Samuelsson were honored as members of the "Triple Gold Club." Those three are among 22 players who have won the Stanley Cup, an Olympic gold medal and an IIHF World Championships.
-Imagine this. The United States and Canada are meeting in the women's final.
NHL
-We haven't had one of these in a while. Why didn't the Penguins re-sign Ryan Malone (right)?
-Happy 52nd birthday to former Penguins forward Mike Meeker. A second-round pick by the Penguins in 1978, Meeker's entire NHL career consisted of four games with the 1978-79 Penguins.
Northeast Division
-Brian Burke, who also serves as the overlord of the Maple Leafs, called forward Mikhail Grabovski "stupid" for his recent arrest.
Central Division
-The Predators extended their affiliation agreement with the Milwaukee Admirals of the AHL through the 2011-12 season with an option for 2012-13.
(Photos: Bruce Bennett/Getty Images, Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images, Matt Slocum/Associated Press and Jamie Squire/Getty Images)